Part 1, Chapter 2 (8)

“Welcome, prospective Heroes. I am Yoo Young-ho, a Hero known as ‘Praetor’.”

As the man bowed his head in greeting, the auditorium filled with applause. The faces of the young people filling the seats were all filled with respect and trust.

“Haha. Thank you all for coming to today’s special lecture. Shall we get straight to the point then?”

Yoo Young-ho tapped his smartwatch, flipping the screen. The large image filling the wall displayed the prominent text: ‘Response Measures for Dimensional Gate Occurrences’.

“Dimensional Gates. They’re a phenomenon that has appeared everywhere in the world since 1999. Many scholars debate whether they are a natural phenomenon or an artificial one, and nothing has been clearly revealed yet, but.”

As Yoo Young-ho flipped the screen, various photos appeared. Mountains, seas, cities, even school playgrounds. The Dimensional Gates, emitting bizarre mana as if circular holes had opened in the air, grew progressively larger in size in subsequent photos.

“On average, once or twice a month. Dimensional Gates, which can appear anywhere in the world at any time, are humanity’s greatest threat, managed with the utmost vigilance by the Hero Association.”

Click. As the next slide appeared, silence fell upon the audience. The size of the Dimensional Gate, captured by satellite, was similar to that of the baseball stadium right next to it.

“Do you remember the ‘Dodgers Gate’ incident that occurred in LA, USA, two years ago? That incident where no less than three S-rank monsters appeared. It was a human tragedy that resulted in an immense number of casualties, to the extent that six Knights of the Round Table rushed to the United States.”

Yoo Young-ho made the sign of the cross, honoring the souls of the victims, and the audience bowed their heads in silent tribute. Yoo Young-ho cleared his throat and continued his lecture.

“Why did the Dimensional Gate grow so large? You are all well aware that the longer a Dimensional Gate remains open, the larger it grows, and as it expands, it spews out stronger and more numerous monsters into our world.”

Yoo Young-ho played a short video. It showed the chaotic group battle between the S-rank monsters that appeared at the time and the six Round Table Heroes. Against the rampaging monsters that destroyed the entire city, the Heroes successfully subdued them with systematic movements and closed the Dimensional Gate.

“If it weren’t for the Heroes of the Round Table, LA might have become a monster-infested land like the Amazon by now.”

Taking a sip of water, Yoo Young-ho pointed at the screen and continued speaking.

The photo on the slide showed a CCTV screen capturing a very small Dimensional Gate.

“This Dimensional Gate was actually said to be the minimum size for only D-rank monsters when it first appeared. The Hero who first discovered it….”

Even after drinking water, Yoo Young-ho swallowed, his throat feeling parched. This topic was painful to speak about every time.

“He happened to be watching a baseball game with his family. While the Hero struggled to close the Dimensional Gate, one monster that he hadn’t managed to catch attacked the Hero’s son.”

The entire audience let out groans. It was a dilemma faced by all Heroes confronted with a Dimensional Gate.

“Yes. The Hero went to save his family just before completely destroying the Dimensional Gate. However, the incompletely closed Dimensional Gate began to rampage, exponentially increasing its size. Although he succeeded in saving his son, the Hero, unable to overcome his guilt after causing hundreds of casualties, took his own life on the very spot where the Dimensional Gate was destroyed.”

Yoo Young-ho maintained the somber atmosphere.

“That’s why you all must contemplate this. What if such a situation were to befall me? What should I do if the time comes to weigh my family against the future of humanity? As prospective Hero agents, you must ponder these matters deeply and engrave in your minds what actions you should take.”

Yoo Young-ho pointed at a young man sitting in the very front row, his eyes shining brightly.

“Agent in the middle row there? Number 38, is it? Please stand up. What would you do, Agent?”

The microphone was handed to Agent 38.

“Let’s assume a Dimensional Gate opens where you are, Agent. And right next to you is a woman you have a crush on. A lovely woman for whom even sacrificing everything wouldn’t be enough. What would you do then? Would you first evacuate the woman to safety? Or would you go to close the Dimensional Gate?”

Agent 38 hesitated for a moment before answering with a voice full of resolve.

“First, I will go to close the Dimensional Gate without hesitation!”

“Oh-ho. You’re resolute. Why?”

Even with Yoo Young-ho’s sarcastic question, Agent 38’s eyes shone with unwavering conviction.

“Because that is the first thing that must be done for the peace of humanity!”

“What if, in the meantime, your beloved is attacked by a monster?”

“I will close the Dimensional Gate and then quickly go to save her!”

“……Your words are certainly flowery.”

Yoo Young-ho looked down at Agent 38 with a stern expression. The gaze of the entire audience was fixed on the stiffened Agent 38.

Gulp.

The sound of someone swallowing in nervousness could be heard even here. Yoo Young-ho chuckled inwardly and asked.

“What is your name?”

Murmuring.

The auditorium suddenly began to stir. In an academy where everyone was called by a number, like ‘Agent XX’, for fairness, a special lecturer asking an agent’s name was a clear violation of the rules.

“It’s fine. You’re all graduating soon anyway, aren’t you? I’m also going to quit after this year. I’m going out into the field, you see.”

Yoo Young-ho’s bombshell statement mixed envy and jealousy in the eyes of those looking at Agent 38. The Praetor asking for a name was tantamount to an open declaration that he would pick that person during the ‘application process’ before graduation.

And the young man was not one to miss such an opportunity. He tensed his stomach and shouted loudly.

“Agent 38! My name is Lee Seung-hyung!!”

“Alright. Then, prospective Agent Lee Seung-hyung, would you read this?”

At Yoo Young-ho’s prompting, Lee Seung-hyung loudly read the text displayed on the screen.

– Upon the occurrence of a Dimensional Gate, the highest priority for all Heroes is to destroy the Dimensional Gate.

[From Chapter 5 of the Hero Code White Paper, Crisis Response Manual.]

* * *

This won’t do, after all. Seung-hyung, who had been climbing the mountain path, stopped and turned back.

“Phew. Seung-hyung-ah. Get a grip. Have you forgotten what Young-ho hyung-nim said?”

He slapped his cheeks with his hands, recalling Yoo Young-ho’s words and pulling himself together. A Hero’s mission when faced with a Dimensional Gate. A recurrence of a tragedy like Dodgers Gate must not happen again.

‘But…!’

The monsters, sensing Seung-hyung’s presence, cunningly fled down the mountain, avoiding him. They had gone to attack the people at the base of the mountain, regardless of whether the Dimensional Gate was blocked.

She could die. The image of Cheon Gaeul’s bleeding, fallen body flashed through Seung-hyung’s mind.

Seung-hyung gathered his mana and checked his remaining mana. Although there was some depletion from several battles with monsters he encountered on the way up, the mana flowing through his body was still ample enough to traverse the mountain at full speed more than a dozen times.

Step.

Seung-hyung unconsciously took a step down the mountain.

At the same time, Seung-hyung recalled Yoo Young-ho’s proud face from the lecture.

Halt.

Seung-hyung’s body half-turned towards the mountain peak. The ominous mana, which made his skin tingle, seemed to be located about a minute’s run away.

Should I go? What if she’s attacked by monsters?

But what if she safely escapes the monster attack? What if, by some luck, a Hero or hunter arrives quickly and helps her?

But what if the Dimensional Gate doubles in size while I go down? In the worst case, what if I rush to Gaeul, only to find her already dead, and the Dimensional Gate expands uncontrollably in the meantime?

A continuous conflict churned in his mind. As Seung-hyung clutched his throbbing head, the face of his agency’s CEO came to mind.

The CEO of an entertainment agency, who was a former model. He had answered Seung-hyung, who was conflicted for some other reason, like this:

– If you’re going to regret it anyway, do what makes you feel more at ease.

Just as Seung-hyung was about to close his eyes and turn his head, a pine tree that had fallen across the hiking trail poked him in the eye.

“Aargh?!”

Even with mana reinforcement, pain is still pain. Seung-hyung, in pain from the sting, glared at the pine tree.

“Ah.”

– Seung-hyung-ssi, please go block the Dimensional Gate. That’s what a Hero does.

Was this a stinging punishment for himself, for trying to suppress a Hero’s mission and pursue his own selfish desires? It was precisely at the moment he was consumed by dark desires that the pine tree poked his eye, and Cheon Gaeul’s image came to mind.

“…Right.”

Seung-hyung rotated the mana throughout his body again and turned his gaze towards the peak.

“I’ll close the Dimensional Gate.”

Cheon Gaeul would be fine. She was a woman with strong mental fortitude, having endured as a child actress in the harsh entertainment industry.

That’s why he fell for her. From the moment he saw her beyond the screen, every single moment they acted together, breathing the same air, was lovely.

“When I get back-“

He would definitely confess. Seung-hyung’s steps, ignoring even the hiking trail and running straight up the mountain, grew even faster.

* * *

He opened his eyes.

Blink, blink.

‘What is this place?’

The world looked different. The entire panorama of Seoul stretched far into the distance, visible at a glance. As if watching from a tall beacon.

‘Certainly, at the end-‘

The pain, so intense he wanted to beg for death, ended, and he briefly lost consciousness. Deokbae looked around for Phoenix, then moved his foot.

Thump-!

‘…?’

Was my footstep this loud? Deokbae’s gaze naturally fell to the ground, and,

‘ ‘

He let out a silent scream. His legs-or what he presumed to be his legs-were engulfed in blue flames, burning fiercely.

– Your perspective will change.

Deokbae recalled the words Phoenix had left him. Considering Phoenix’s eccentric and illogical actions so far, and his own appearance, there was only one conclusion.

‘Am I Gulliver?’

If this wasn’t a special effects film set, then the land before him was clearly Seoul, and he had become a giant whose entire body was burning with flames. Deokbae chuckled and took another, larger step.

Thump–!

‘There’s no way I won’t draw aggro now.’

An entire dilapidated house was trampled and crushed. Deokbae repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists, then turned his gaze northward.

‘……Whoa.’

He saw his reflection in the building’s glass windows.

A true giant of blue flame. A spherical gray rock was embedded near his solar plexus.

‘That must be me.’

High probability-no, 100% certainty-that his original body was there. Since his ‘master’ was trying this for the first time anyway, Deokbae had no choice but to figure things out himself.

‘This is really annoying.’

If he’d turned into a giant like this in the middle of Seoul, what was he supposed to do now? Should he just sprint at full speed?

Whack–!

Something struck Deokbae’s back of the head.

Deokbae, who barely avoided falling by stepping forward with his right foot, checked what had hit the back of his head.

“Hahaha! He’s just big, but he’s nothing special!”

A hunter wearing flight gear swung a mana-infused rope around and threw it at Deokbae.

Whoosh!

Blue flames erupted from Deokbae’s arm, burning the mana rope. The hunter’s eyes widened in alarm, and he retreated.

Vwoom—!

Deokbae waved his hand as if swatting a fly. The hunter barely managed to activate his thrusters and escape.

“Hehehe! What an idiot! That’s why it’s fun to mess with these monsters!”

‘He’s really getting on my nerves.’

Flying around like a fly and chattering away, he was just like his master.

“Oh, it’s hunting time! I’ll take the Core!”

“Find its weakness! You can only damage it by infusing mana!”

Hunters who got out of the truck each unpacked their gear, licking their lips at Deokbae.

Deokbae felt a surge of indignation, thinking he was like a wild boar being hunted.

‘So, you want me to draw aggro, huh?’

Then I’ll do exactly as you say. Thoroughly.

Deokbae bent his knees and leaped high into the sky.

“Uh, uh-uh-uh?!”

A giant, roughly the size of an average building, stretched both arms above its head in mid-air. A hunter who had just charged mana into his thrusters saw the sight and spoke.

“Diving body press?”

Thump—–!

A massive cloud of dust rose at Doksan Station.

* * *

Cheon Gaeul.

This woman, who was both a villain and the chapter boss of the early story, was nicknamed “Newbie Slayer,” “Wall of Wailing,” and so on.

Her top-tier illusion-attribute superpower, Masquerade, could copy an opponent’s appearance, voice, memories, and even part of their abilities.

As if the boss battle field, being inside a building with no light, wasn’t bad enough for visibility, she would disguise herself as an ally and ambush friendly Heroes.

I had only ever recruited her as a companion twice. In the early stages, I suffered so much that I completely analyzed all her patterns and succeeded in subduing her quite easily and imprisoning her.

And that was when the “Villain Companionship” boom was a hot topic across the entire community.

– Lol, I recruited that murderer as a companionㅋㅋㅋ I teased them more when they got mad, then got killed and it was game overㅋㅋㅋ

– Pungma is “real.”

– Jason-jjang cuts inside the chainsaw!

As expected, there were many perverts in the world, and some even appeared who cleared the game by only recruiting villains as companions. Their reasoning was, since the executives were originally villains anyway, why should there be a reason to prevent recruiting villains as companions?

Even the developers acknowledged it.

‘It is possible to recruit villains as companions! So, players, please enjoy the game with peace of mind.’

In the original work, they were recruited with their abilities nerfed under the pretext of “resocialization” and had a poor reputation, but performance-wise, they were similar to other companions, so there was no major issue with difficulty.

It was simply a matter of whether one felt reluctance to recruit heartless criminals as companions, even in a virtual reality game.

And among them, Cheon Gaeul was a villainess among villainesses, whose wickedness ranked among the top three.

“But why are you here?”

I brought the unconscious Cheon Gaeul to the lounge of the lecture hall and laid her on the sofa. The Azure Flame veil wrapped around my neck covered Cheon Gaeul’s body like a thin blanket.

“This isn’t a fake, is it?”

I had found an ID card hidden inside Cheon Gaeul’s smartphone case. A ‘New Seoul Resident ID’, completely different from a driver’s license or a superpowered individual registration card. Inside it were Cheon Gaeul’s profile and address, and that profile perfectly matched my memories.

“…….”

I took out a drink from the vending machine in the hallway.

To be precise, I just shoved my hand into the vending machine without paying and grabbed any random drink stored inside, holding it in my hand.

Clink-

The clear sound of a can opening filled the hallway. The refreshing sensation flowing down my throat was crisp, but my mind grew even more complicated.

‘Should I just throw her outside now? So she can awaken as a superpowered individual? No. It’s too late. Besides, she’s already seen me. So, should I kill her? To prevent her from testifying that a superpowered individual using Azure Flame saved her? The protagonist’s events with the main heroine happen because of her, don’t they? Before that, she *is* the main heroine.’

If she were just some random villain, I could comfortably burn her to ashes. But the fact that Cheon Gaeul wasn’t just any villain, but a main heroine with her own individual route, bothered me considerably.

I recalled the opinions people discussed before Cheon Gaeul was known as a main heroine.

Her notoriety is quite high, but her performance is good.

Her bare face without makeup is passable.

Her figure alone is top-tier among Korean heroines.

A substitute to deploy immediately when you can’t get the companion or enemy you want.

‘Who would have imagined she was a main heroine with an individual ending?’

At best, she was a superpowered individual with C-rank abilities. Given that the minimum cutoff for revealed heroines was 1.5-tier-some even belonging to the Round Table-the fact that a character who was merely a minor villain was a main heroine shocked even me, to the point where I immediately attempted her route in the next playthrough.

‘Before that, is this young lady truly the villainess I knew?’

Cheon Gaeul, clutching the veil tightly like a chick, slept soundly, oblivious to the world.

It’s frustrating. If she would just wake up, I could at least ask her.

“Why are you doing this here, of all places, today?”

I looked at Cheon Gaeul, who was asleep on the lounge sofa, then covered my face with both hands.

‘Are you comfortable? Are you really sleeping right now?’

Of course, she might feel relieved to have narrowly escaped death from the monsters, but knowing the future developments, I couldn’t help but feel my insides burning.

‘You need to awaken for anything to happen, you know.’

The protagonist, who came from America, gained the trust of the Korean Hero Association thanks to his achievement of capturing Cheon Gaeul.

All sorts of events, including the development of affection flags with early companions, were intertwined with Cheon Gaeul.

“Should I have not saved her?”

I regret it, but there’s nothing I can do. If she were to die without awakening her superpower, it wouldn’t just be one person dying; the true ending itself would be blocked.

“The original work wasn’t enough, so now I have to block all death flags from five years ago? Seriously.”

Isn’t it too hard? She was a woman who, even on her own route, just wanted to bury her past. That the woman I saved without thinking happened to be Cheon Gaeul was terrifying and gave me goosebumps.

What if I had ignored the Dimensional Gate alarm?

What if I had gone straight to Yeouido?

What if I had ignored the monster attack and not saved her?

“Isn’t the world too harsh on me?”

I want to go back. But I don’t know how.

Perhaps if I clear the game, I can go back. But if I’m trapped in this world forever, I had to find the only way to survive.

“True ending, survival flags… Phew.”

Enough of these complicated thoughts that felt like my head would explode.

I quietly went up to the building’s rooftop so Cheon Gaeul wouldn’t wake up. The monsters roaming around the university grounds sensed my presence and stealthily avoided the lecture hall.

“The hunters will be drawn to Deokbae, who’s taking care of drawing their attention.”

It’s a given how much he must be cursing me internally. When else would he get to use A-rank power? All of this would be a good experience, becoming flesh and blood for Deokbae.

“Then Cheon Gaeul… let’s protect her with this.”

I meticulously molded the mana flames as if they were clay, rolling them into a small, candy-sized sphere.

Monster production could be called the identity of the Dark Legion executives. But I, having already awakened as a spirit, could create lower spirits, not monsters. Though to human eyes, they would all look like the same monsters.

“Illuminate the night path, child of the sun.”

Whoosh. The building’s rooftop filled with intense heat, and the sphere began to throb.

Crack, snap!

The flames that erupted as the sphere shattered took the form of a small bird.

♪♬

“Yes. That’s right. Good bird.”

The small bird perched on my index finger. It was about the size of a canary, but given its name, ‘Mini Phoenix’, it would certainly perform its role as a sentinel well.

“Protect the human inside this building here. Understood?”

– Understood, nya.

To ordinary people, it was the sound of a bird chirping, but to my ears, as a spirit, the words were clearly audible. Did I mishear?

“And if a monster tries to attack the building, you can chase it away.”

– Can I eat them, nya?

They say lower spirits resemble their masters, so why is this one like this? I nodded and sent the Mini Phoenix flying into the sky.

“Phew, then.”

I heightened my senses and swept through the mana of the Gwanaksan Mountain area. Heroes had set up a defensive line against the monsters pouring out like an endless spring. Their efficient deployment made me instinctively realize there was a commander among the Heroes.

‘Setting up a defensive line? What are they thinking?’

It was an optimal deployment for the purpose of gathering all available and unavailable resources to surround the mountain. Although there were sparse gaps where hunters were missing because I told Deokbae to cause a ruckus, it was a tactic worthy of praise even from me, who had commanded thousands of battles.

But this way, it’s as if they intend to leave the Dimensional Gate as it is.

‘It must be one of two things.’

Either they’re intentionally delaying closing the Dimensional Gate to collect the cores of the pouring monsters, or they’re quickly dispatching a powerful Hero to close the Dimensional Gate while the rest protect the civilian areas.

The intention felt from the deployment was not the former.

‘Then that means someone went alone, breaking through the monsters, to block the Dimensional Gate?’

Amidst the ominous mana, I perked my ears at the anomalous aura rushing towards the mountain peak. The mana quantity itself was abundant, but its attribute concerned me more.

“Fire attribute?”

To think there’d be a Hero with fire-attribute mana in a place like this. I imbued more mana into the Mini Phoenix circling above the building and leaped off the building.

‘I need to see who it is.’

It was both the attribute of the original protagonist and a rare attribute, with fewer than 1000 users worldwide according to the original work.

‘Surely it’s not the protagonist.’

No way. He’s in America right now.

‘But Cheon Gaeul is also here doing this.’

I ran along the hiking trail, following the traces of the mana’s owner, feeling uncertain.

Until I confirmed it with my own eyes, everything remained uncertain.